it's going to happen ... the Chinese people are hard workers,very disciplined and very eager to learn ,plus right now with all those billionaires they'll find money to support their up and coming ... they will throw money for a piece of fame..

And if they all play the type of game Li Na plays they are sure to dominate.Carlos is probably the best coach on the womens tour. If these young Chinese girls role model Li Nas tactics and technique its gonna be trouble for the rest of the world. Li has the BEST backhand on the tour and now shes got soooo much more shape on the forehand. I have made my daughter watch the last two matches Li Na has played and showed her what tennis is suppose to look like.

Women's tennis is a "doable" sport, meaning putting in enough work leads to results. It doesn't require any special physical skills. So a player can appear from any part of the world where there is opportunity and interest.

China has been the next hotbed for athletes for the last 20 years. They've experienced only moderate success in tennis. Lot's of other sports there that are higher profile. More population does not always equal success and domination at the top of the pro game. Not in today's world.

the best girls are coming out of the US, look at the top ITF players and on the opposite side where you will expect players to come from, no girls out of spain . France has the highest currant ATP players.

This is not a bad bet , you have what I have said is a main ingrediant along with hard work is a coach who is a dictator ,,This country comes with that as a foundation strait up dictators at all levels, so there is a good chance they will develop a lot of players who win Grandslams as early as 15 yrs old .

This is not a bad bet , you have what I have said is a main ingrediant along with hard work is a coach who is a dictator ,,This country comes with that as a foundation strait up dictators at all levels, so there is a good chance they will develop a lot of players who win Grandslams as early as 15 yrs old .

Click to expand...

Funny stuff Brad. You forgot to add with growth hormones, and other PED's like their ever so successful swimmers and gymnasts.

Funny stuff Brad. You forgot to add with growth hormones, and other PED's like their ever so successful swimmers and gymnasts.

Click to expand...

Are you implying that these Chinese ladies used PED to win tennis matches? I recalled that only one guy got caught for using PED a few years ago. Experts would likely point out that tennis is not about the speed and strength, you win with skills, control, mental toughness, endurance, flexibility... Who is the most famous cheater, a guy named Lance!

Going back to GA's prediction that Chinese women will dominate tennis in 10 years. I am not sure how one defies dominance. I would say it's possible that in a few years, 10 women with Chinese surnames would be ranked top 100. These ladies could be produced in China, Taiwan or US (like Grace Min or Claire Liu?). More top tennis coaches will be hired to train youth in China and some promising juniors may even get trained in academies in US or EU. However, the only sport that China has dominated and will continue to dominate is table tennis.

I think only the very top Chinese ladies (like top 50), who can go deep in tournaments to earn good living with prize money and endorsement have chosen to get out of the state sponsored program. Most juniors and WTA or ITF profs are still sponsored by the state or provinces. These pros will get a salary and all the expenses are paid by the state; but they only get to keep 50% of the prize money and endorsements. Carlos Rodriguez was working in China before he joined Li Na's team. Michael Chang has a tennis academy in Shenzhen. More and more top coaches will be working in China...

10 American and 10 Russian women are ranked top 100 now. This trend shall continue. Keys will be ranked top 20 likely this year; Townsend may be ranked top 50 in 2 years. They and Sloane are future grand slam winners. Has anybody foreseen an American man winning a grand slam in the next few years?

Are you implying that these Chinese ladies used PED to win tennis matches? I recalled that only one guy got caught for using PED a few years ago. Experts would likely point out that tennis is not about the speed and strength, you win with skills, control, mental toughness, endurance, flexibility... Who is the most famous cheater, a guy named Lance!

Going back to GA's prediction that Chinese women will dominate tennis in 10 years. I am not sure how one defies dominance. I would say it's possible that in a few years, 10 women with Chinese surnames would be ranked top 100. These ladies could be produced in China, Taiwan or US (like Grace Min or Claire Liu?). More top tennis coaches will be hired to train youth in China and some promising juniors may even get trained in academies in US or EU. However, the only sport that China has dominated and will continue to dominate is table tennis.

Click to expand...

I was kidding as I thought Brad's post may have been tongue in cheek. Not saying the Chinese are doping their tennis players but they have doped other athletes in the past, that's all. Would not put anything past the Chinese government.

Regarding your experts comments, would those be the same experts who early on in the Baseball PED's conspiracy, said PED's in baseball did not make a difference for the same reason? They contended PED's really just helped primarily with injury recovery.

I spent 6 hours fishing with a guy quite tied into Chinese tennis. Taiwan does its own thing in regards to tennis so take them out of it. Min is US as you said.

A handful of decent Chinese pro women, nothing much to speak of ITF.

The government does not push tennis like the massive efforts for gymnastics and other sports. Any sponsorship is not a great advantage and no more than other countries. There is no obsessed government program to develop tennis players.

Sure tennis coaches and academies will open as the population increases its affluent members. parents will pay for coaching like they do here. No reason to think they will produce exceptional players though, any more than elsewhere.

The fact is there will be no great surge in Chinese tennis pros, there will be a few hits, like with most tennis playing countries.

Click to expand...

TCF - Agree. It's really hard to find a tennis court in China unless you live in one of the largest cities. So, your and GA's daughter will likely face more challenge from girls and women from Russia and Eastern European countries.

From what he told me, the more affluent kids are populating the tennis training. And you think American kids have attitudes? He said nothing compares to the arrogance of a kid raised by the 'new money' Chinese parents. The tennis coaches are their toys.

So if people are thinking either very hungry kids like the Serbian or poorer Russians, or a government brutal system like the Chinese gymnastics, that is not what is happening with Chinese tennis.

I was kidding as I thought Brad's post may have been tongue in cheek. Not saying the Chinese are doping their tennis players but they have doped other athletes in the past, that's all. Would not put anything past the Chinese government.

Regarding your experts comments, would those be the same experts who early on in the Baseball PED's conspiracy, said PED's in baseball did not make a difference for the same reason? They contended PED's really just helped primarily with injury recovery.

Click to expand...

Yes, doping was a problem in swimming, weight lifting and distance running, in China as well as in other countries. Tennis is just a very unique sport. Justine Henin beat so many bigger and much more powerful women.

My brother in law lives in Shanghai. According to him tennis is still regarded as an elite sport in China. There is only something like 30,000 tennis courts in China versus 270,000 in the US with quadruple the population. The average folks are not gonna be able to afford to play tennis in China much less train at the elite level.

My 7 year old daughter is going to be spending this summer in Shanghai. I am looking for a reputable tennis academy for her to train at this summer. I've found a couple on Google but don't know if they are any good. Let me know if anybody have any info on tennis clubs/academies in Shanghai.

From what he told me, the more affluent kids are populating the tennis training. And you think American kids have attitudes? He said nothing compares to the arrogance of a kid raised by the 'new money' Chinese parents. The tennis coaches are their toys.

So if people are thinking either very hungry kids like the Serbian or poorer Russians, or a government brutal system like the Chinese gymnastics, that is not what is happening with Chinese tennis.

Click to expand...

These rich kids play tennis and golf because these are rich people's sports. The parents may hire a full time tennis coach as their baby sitter. It's the major tennis schools in Wuhan, Sichuan, Tianjin that have developed Li Na, Zheng Jie, and Peng Shuai are really serious in training kids. They are hiring the best tennis coaches. I believe they recruited most of their kids from families that are struggling economically. These kids won't be less hungry than those in Russia and Eastern EU, because their life and perhaps their families' life depend on their future success.

My daughter trained with a boy from china who is here to become a pro. The mom said there are few choices and competition is too strong to get the top pros attention in china. Here she buys the time and gets what she wants. She is of new money where she says that her son will never have to get a job so she will do whatever it takes to reach her sons dream. She spends $700/day on tennis!

My daughter trained with a boy from china who is here to become a pro. The mom said there are few choices and competition is too strong to get the top pros attention in china. Here she buys the time and gets what she wants. She is of new money where she says that her son will never have to get a job so she will do whatever it takes to reach her sons dream. She spends $700/day on tennis!

If you read the Talent Code, these little hotbeds come and go all the time. The Belgians thought they had the women's market with Henin and Clijsters and that was about it for the dominance of that country, the Russians with Spartak, etc. The odds are these 3 successful Chinese women will be the peak of the 'invasion' which will never materialize.

The coach I talked with at length on Monday sees nothing about recruiting all these poor kids for tennis. I think I will trust him since he is closely involved.

Click to expand...

Wikipedia of Li Na, Zheng Jie and Peng Shuai show the parents of these ladies were not considered poor. They were far from being considered rich either. I guess I was reading too much about the stories of Olympic medalists, many of them are from poor families. So, I was likely wrong in assuming the same for these most successful women tennis players and the juniors that are training hard.:cry: However, I am confident that Li Na won't be the last Chinese woman to win a grand slam, so long as tennis remains an Olympic sport.

Tennis academy: $50,000/year that is $137/day
Private school: $40,000/year that is $110/day - assuming that the kid is still attending school
Rent a house: $3,000/month that is $100/day
Private lesson: $500/day
Travel to tournaments around the world: $50,000/year that $137/day
....

Tennis academy: $50,000/year that is $137/day
Private school: $40,000/year that is $110/day - assuming that the kid is still attending school
Rent a house: $3,000/month that is $100/day
Private lesson: $500/day
Travel to tournaments around the world: $50,000/year that $137/day
....

This may add up to $1,000/day

Click to expand...

Those aren't just tennis expenses.

It's just hard to imagine tennis expenses alone for a junior player could add up to $700/day.

It's just hard to imagine tennis expenses alone for a junior player could add up to $700/day.

What a waste of money.

Click to expand...

There may only be 1-2 kids like this. Not many families can afford to spend $250,000 a year on their kid, knowing that the chance of becoming another Li Na would be less than 0.000000000001%.

I personally know a Chinese boy who is training in the same center as my son. The dad works in China, while the mom lives in US with their son. They bought a house that would cost over $500,000. The boy attended a youth tennis school in China for several years. He hits beautifully in practices, taking probably 4-5 privates a week. However, he is 0-22 against any boys of 2 stars and better in the past 12 months.

If you read the Talent Code, these little hotbeds come and go all the time. The Belgians thought they had the women's market with Henin and Clijsters and that was about it for the dominance of that country, the Russians with Spartak, etc. The odds are these 3 successful Chinese women will be the peak of the 'invasion' which will never materialize.

The coach I talked with at length on Monday sees nothing about recruiting all these poor kids for tennis. I think I will trust him since he is closely involved.

Click to expand...

TCF remember a couple of years ago there were a few on here making a big deal about the Spanish way of teaching and that they had the best system and clay courts were the best way of teaching, I said it all comes in cycles ? I personally dont see the next wave of Spanish coming up to dominate and it looks a little like the US women are having a little surge but will see , I am just looking for the next cycle .

Are you implying that these Chinese ladies used PED to win tennis matches? I recalled that only one guy got caught for using PED a few years ago. Experts would likely point out that tennis is not about the speed and strength, you win with skills, control, mental toughness, endurance, flexibility... Who is the most famous cheater, a guy named Lance!

Going back to GA's prediction that Chinese women will dominate tennis in 10 years. I am not sure how one defies dominance. I would say it's possible that in a few years, 10 women with Chinese surnames would be ranked top 100. These ladies could be produced in China, Taiwan or US (like Grace Min or Claire Liu?). More top tennis coaches will be hired to train youth in China and some promising juniors may even get trained in academies in US or EU. However, the only sport that China has dominated and will continue to dominate is table tennis.

TCF remember a couple of years ago there were a few on here making a big deal about the Spanish way of teaching and that they had the best system and clay courts were the best way of teaching, I said it all comes in cycles ? I personally dont see the next wave of Spanish coming up to dominate and it looks a little like the US women are having a little surge but will see , I am just looking for the next cycle .

Click to expand...

If you build a competition system like Spain or France then you get a mass of players competing, the trick is to keep them in the system, doing something in the sport. The cycle is helped when you get a no. 1 or some top 50 players..they all push each other, then you get momentum...you get 2 british girls/women, 2, 3 US girls...you don't need many.

If China build there own tournament system they will definitely have the numbers! Once they do that it will be interesting to see if they get a cycle going. It gets a focus then people get interested in the sport, winning tournaments especially majors, lasts.

The coaching is another issue but you are right it all goes in cycles, waves.
The trick is to catch the wave, ride the momentum & stay there for 5,10 years.While that top player is on top of the wave you try to get a few lesser players to practice with them so that some of the magic golddust settles!
The Spanish Men have done really well the last 10 years, you only need a couple of players to push the others.

Holy mother load!!! That pro is loving it, and the parents are just plain $tupid. But if you got and want to chase the dream money is no object. I predict we never hear of this kid in the future.

Click to expand...

How can you conclude that the parents are stupid?

We don't know, maybe their tennis expense is less than 1% of annual income or a much smaller percentage of net worth. Meanwhile, it wouldn't surprise me if lots of parents right here on this Board are paying upwards of 5-10% of annual income on their kids' tennis.

Looking at nominal amounts rather than percentages in any business or family isn't the best way to take risk or maximize material enjoyment/the return on investment.

On a real note was watching the LO LO jones story and I dont know what to think is she a liar or what ? She talked about how many hrs. of detailed training and extra work she put in to get that level , I have been led to believe these types of great athletes are just real special genetically .

I think if China gets rolling they would probably take off considering all the forced labor they will have and upper edge , compared to our kids there are very few like Roger , Rafa , LoLo , Jordan who just end up buying into a hard work ethic regimen that has caused us all to be spell bound .

I work with the Chinese extensively in my job and have traveled there a few times in the past two years. There is no tennis infrastructure there yet. Hard to find courts, private programs, it's not within schools, etc. While the success of Li Na and others will help, it will be the government that will be the make or break for tennis in China. If they see an opportunity for notoriety in the sport and choose to pour resources into it, look out. Otherwise, it will be a long, slow slog for private enterprise to build the sport in the country. That's just how it works there.

Also, big cities in China are so awfully polluted, people do not enjoy being outdoors, much less playing a sport out doors.

Michael Chang opened a tennis academy in China a few years back and was supposed to work with the Chinese to raise their level to international standards. Haven't heard much about the academy or his efforts recently, wonder if he is still involved. Michael Chang is very popular in China and maybe he can lay the foundation in building a tennis infrastructure there.